Beautiful Mt. Rainier, seen from above the clouds. The mountain gives its name to a very special fruit, grown in the locale. There would never be a more appropriate time to bake some Rainier Cherry Pie with a Grated Top Crust.

Rainier cherries are sweet, peachy, red-and-yellow marbles of deliciousness. And if you go to a local Washington market (NOT a supermarket), you will get a great price such as $1.99 a lb. I should have bought about twice as many as I did. Regrets.

Regrets continued: for the first time in my life, I talked myself into buying pre-made crust. “I don’t want to buy all the ingredients and have the leftover go to waste,” I said to myself. “I don’t know if there will be any measuring cups where we are staying.” (There weren’t.) “I’ve already spent too much money on groceries this month.” All pitiful excuses. This will never happen again, I promise you, because the pie would have tasted about 100 times more delicious if I had made the crust myself. I already hear some of you insisting “But the store-bought crust tastes just as good!”  Quite frankly, you’re wrong. Sorry.

*Deep breath* Moving past all that…the pies sure looked pretty. To make a grated top crust, simply freeze half of your pastry and then grate it over the top like a block of cheese. In case you were wondering, we were in Washington for a family vacation. Levi’s grandparents, Ken and Bonnie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year. Hooray for them! Locally made ice cream to go along with your Rainier Cherry Pie? But of course!